William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Baz Luhrmann opens Romeo + Juliet with a gas station standoff shot like a western on fast-forward, all whip pans, freeze frames and screaming, and it’s legit exhausting. The first stretch is so loud you can barely hear the poetry. Then a fish tank shows up, and the movie calms down long enough to fall in love. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes are basically kids here, and that’s the point: they look young, act young and make terrible decisions at full speed. Danes handles the verse better than anyone in the cast. Harold Perrineau steals the costume party in a white wig and sequins, then makes Mercutio the most alive person in Verona Beach. John Leguizamo’s Tybalt is pure swagger. The older Capulets play their comedy so broad it turns shrill. It made $147.6 million worldwide on a reported $14.5M. A 7.0 because the swing is enormous and most of it connects. $9.16 says you walk past an aquarium this year and peek through the glass hoping someone peeks back.

What works: Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio feel genuinely young and reckless, and Harold Perrineau’s Mercutio is electric.

What doesn’t: The frantic opening and the broad slapstick from the older Capulets make the first stretch exhausting to sit through.

Who it’s for: Students who have to read the play and anyone who likes their classics loud, neon and dramatic.